I was invited to the opening event by Vinotecca. All opinions are my own. 

I was disappointed when Vinotecca announced that it was closing in Royal Oak to make way for the new Jolly Pumpkin. I’ve had a lot of fun attending their Black Wine Night over the years. But my frown was quickly turned upside down when it was announced that Vinotecca would be moving to Birmingham instead.

One fun element about Vinotecca is the owners are a father-daughter team (my dad and I are obviously doing the wrong types of bonding activities). John Jonna has 40 years of experience in the wine business and is a sommelier and cheese expert (who knew this was a thing?). His daughter, Kristin, is a certified specialist of wine. I had no idea that John founded Merchant’s Fine Wine (one of my favorite places when I lived in the Dearborn area).

When I RSVP’d for the opening event, I had no idea I would get the wine education I did. My friend and I decided to cozy on up to the bar and we ended up getting a personal wine education from John himself. He shared some of his favorite wines with us and the best part was that for every wine he poured us he had a story to go along with it either about the wine or how he first discovered it. If you are an expert or a novice you will definitely learn something at Vinotecca. Here are a few of the wines John selected for us and some interesting details about them.

Don & Sons 2015 Pinot Noir

This winery is now in its fourth generation and the family has definitely got the hang of it if their namesake wine is any indication. It’s based in Sonoma and the grapes are sourced from the Coast and the Petaluma Gap and Russian River Valley. This is a varietal so it is 94% Pinot Noir blended with Petite Sirah, Cabernet Sauvingon and Zinfandel which makes it great for everyday drinking. This is also a good one to serve to newbies or if you are having guests over and aren’t sure what they will like.

Stephanie Aviron 2015 Chenas

Now here is where I really learned something. John gave us a brief history of what a Beaujolais wine is and why they are so interesting. I had never heard of Beaujolais, so this was a treat for me. This wine is made from the Gamay Grape and gets its name from the Province of Beaujolais in France. They use a different technique in the winemaking process called semi-carbonic maceration. They put the whole grape into a stainless steel tank to ferment and the bottom grapes get crushed and essentially the carbon dioxide they create starts to saturate the grapes that didn’t get crushed and makes them ferment. There are all different types of Beaujolais wines and the different strains/versions are called crus (like crews). From what John told us finding a good Beaujolais is something of a treasure hunt and people spend years trying to find one that speaks to them. This wine did that for him and I thoroughly enjoyed it.

Chateau d’Orignac Pineau Des Charentes

This was another gem, something I had never heard of before which isn’t surprising as the Pineau isn’t very well known outside of France. It even has a legend surrounding it! Apparently in 1589, a winemaker accidentally added grape must into what he thought was an empty barrel, but it was full of eau de vie (or a fruit brandy. They put the barrel in the cellar to ferment and when they brought it out a few years later they had made a Pineau! It contains 60% Merlot and 40% Cabernet Sauvignon with about one-third Cognac. You serve it chilled and is wonderful with desserts and cheese. It should be as it takes nearly 10 years to make!

2014 Triton Tinta de Toro

This Tempranillo was made in Spain and John had visited this vineyard and had a lot of fun stories to tell around this wine. During the Middle Ages, Toro was Spain’s most famous winemaking region and these wines accompanied Spanish explorers to the New World. This is a hearty red wine with an elegant finish. The wine is named Triton after Neptune and his son from Roman Mythology. They were the gods of rivers and lakes and the river Duero plays an important part in the creation of this wine.

I had a lovely time at Vinotecca and guarantee you that I will be back again. I’m always looking for a good wine bar, and Vinotecca gives you wine and a little education to go with it.

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